Man sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison in robbery, kidnapping case

MANSFIELD - A 35-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 17½ years in prison after a jury convicted him on four of five counts.

Jonathan Washington was found guilty of aggravated robbery, robbery, kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle. Jurors, who found him not guilty of a second kidnapping count, deliberated for more than three hours to wrap up the four-day trial before Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson.

In the case, Washington kidnapped a male victim at gunpoint from a Burns Street residence on Oct. 21.

"He's asked to go to another location," Assistant Prosecutor Amanda James said. "The defendant has him drive him there."

Washington allowed the victim to use a cellphone to arrange to meet a third party.

"It's not really known (why)," James said. "The victim speculated that it was a case of mistaken identity."

The victim called an ex-girlfriend and told her of his dilemma. The woman called 911 instead of the third party.

"When law enforcement arrived, the defendant had taken the victim from the location," James said.

Washington did more than move the victim. He also took the man's cellphone, money and a gold chain while forcing him to get in the vehicle's trunk.

In addition, Washington pistol-whipped the man with what turned out to be a BB gun and told him to "pray to who you need to."

"He believed that he was going to die while he was in the trunk," James said.

During the pistol-whipping, part of the gun broke off. The victim had the presence of mind to hide the piece in the trunk. The part had Washington's DNA on it.

"We felt we were successful in identifying inconsistent civilian testimony," defense attorney James Mayer III said. "The jury placed greater weight on some pretty compelling physical evidence. From a physical standpoint, it was an uphill battle."

Eventually, Washington let the victim go. He claimed he would leave the vehicle at Mr. P's but did not do so.

A trooper from the Ohio Highway Patrol's Mansfield post spotted the vehicle in the early-morning hours of Oct. 22.

The trooper tried to make a traffic stop, but the driver fled and later crashed the car into a house.

Washington was arrested Nov. 7 on warrants. He had previous robbery and drug convictions. Police recovered the gun in question.

"I feel pretty good about the outcome," James said. "We were able to get a violent criminal off the streets."